Southampton have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Quincy Promes, after Italian giants Inter reportedly put in a €47m offer for the highly touted winger.

Saints have been coveting the 26-year-old for a while now, and had a club record bid of £25m turned down by his current proprietors Spartak Moscow in January 2018. Promes has been a key figure at Moscow since his transfer from FC Twente in August 2014, and boasts a spectacular record of 64 goals and 33 assists in 128 appearances for the Russian side.

In light of this, the Dutchman has been on the radar of a number of high profile clubs for some time now, and reports emanating from the Russian media are now claiming Spartak Moscow have received a €47m offer from Inter.

Epsilon/GettyImages

While it was understood at the time that Promes himself was keen on a move to Southampton in January, and thus the Premier League side would revisit the situation this summer, Inter's no nonsense approach has set the bar.

It remains to be seen whether the Seasiders will be able to match or even better the Serie A side's sum, or indeed whether fellow English admirers Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle will retain their interest.

If Mark Hughes and his team were to respond to Inter's bid, it would trump their previous record transfer outlay (the ill-fated £19.2m capture of Monaco's Guido Carillo) by at least double. Having finished just one place outside of the relegation zone in 2017/18, Southampton are eager to renovate their attacking options ahead of the upcoming season.